Coast's Jones to leave district

Chancellor Andrew Jones is leaving Coast Community College District 10 months after trustees went public with their frustrations. In October, the district released a report showing that four of the five trustees felt their relationship with Jones either needed improvement or was unacceptable. In the comment section of the survey, the trustees criticized Jones as disengaged. FILE: JOSHUA SUDOCK, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

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Less than two weeks before students return for the fall semester, the top administrator at Coast Community College District is stepping down without explanation.

In a Wednesday night email to district employees obtained by the Register, Chancellor Andrew Jones didn’t indicate exactly what prompted the split, but wrote that it came with “mixed emotions.”

“Coast is an amazing place because of its dedicated professionals and I am very proud of the accomplishments we have achieved during the past three years,” Jones wrote. “There are so many things that are done each and every day throughout the District that make Coast special and I am very confident in your talents and abilities and know that you will continue to serve our students well.”

Jones, who became chancellor in 2011, said today will be his final day at the district, which enrolled more than 43,000 students this past spring at Coastline, Golden West and Orange Coast community colleges.

Reached by email Thursday, Jones declined to comment beyond a written statement released by the district. It said he looked forward to spending more time with his family.

“I am grateful to the Board of Trustees whose support has been essential to our many successes,” he said. “It has been a great privilege to serve the District and an honor to serve with my colleagues.”

Jones’ contract provided him the chancellor job through June 30, 2017, with a $248,000 annual salary, a $12,000 annual retirement contribution, a $400 per month car stipend and up to $6,000 per year in other expenses to develop “high-level community, business and civic relationships.”

The contract also includes a buyout agreement, but a district spokeswoman didn’t know if his resignation triggers it. The clause says that unless Jones is terminated for bad behavior, he is owed a maximum settlement equivalent to 15 months of salary, or about $310,000.

Mary Hornbuckle, president of the Coast board of trustees, said Jones’ email didn't come as a surprise. For the past month, she said, the trustees and Jones have been discussing when and how he would resign.

The trustees and Jones have clashed for at least 10 months. In October, the district released a report showing that four of the five trustees felt their relationship with Jones either needed improvement or was unacceptable. In the comment section of the survey, the trustees criticized Jones as disengaged.

“Get the chancellor to make clear, effective recommendations on all issues – not just sit back and let the board hammer things out,” the trustees wrote, in capital letters, in a section about goals for the coming year.

Still, Hornbuckle said the trustees didn’t ask Jones to resign, describing his decision as personal. She declined to comment in detail on the reason for his resignation or discuss any criticism of his time with the district.

“We're focusing on the positives, and the positives going forward,” she said.

Echoing Jones in his email, Hornbuckle touted the chancellor’s role in uniting area college executives to discuss common issues and for helping to win voter approval in 2012 for Measure M, a $698 million bond for a wide range of campus upgrades.

“We’re grateful that he has been able to serve us this long,” Hornbuckle said.

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